The Flash: key information
– Launches in theaters worldwide on June 16
– First trailer released in February
– Stars Ezra Miller, Sasha Calle, Michael Keaton, Ben Affleck, and Michael Shannon among others
– Plot synopsis revealed
– Will reset the DC's Cinematic Universe
– Miller's future as The Flash up in the air
The Flash‘s release date is speeding into view – and it can't get here soon enough, in our view. Not only because it's supposed to be the best DC Extended Universe (DCEU) movie in years, but because it'll also reset DC's cinematic universe as we know it.
Before the DCEU film arrives in theaters (and it transforms the DCEU into the DC Cinematic Universe (DCU)) – it's not as confusing as it sounds, don't worry – what do we know about it? In this guide, we've compiled everything worth knowing about The Flash, including its release date, cast, plot synopsis, trailers, and more.
A word of warning before you sprint off into the below information, though: full spoilers follow for Man of Steel and Zack Snyder's Justice League. Potential spoilers for The Flash are also discussed.
The Flash release date
The Flash will speed into theaters on June 16, thus ending its protracted development and in-flux launch plans.
Initially, it was slated to arrive in March 2018. However, owing to its lengthy development cycle, the forthcoming DCEU flick has seen its release date changed on numerous occasions. It was later pushed to July 2022, then moved up to June 2022, shunted again to November 2022, before finally landing on its current June 2023 release.
With the final cut locked in and the film's PG-13 rating set, The Flash is nailed on (thankfully) to arrive shortly.
The Flash trailer
The Flash‘s first trailer debuted on February 12 – and we think it looks and sounds incredible.
Chiefly inspired by DC Comics' Flashpoint series, it'll see Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) travel back in time – despite the warnings of Ben Affleck's Batman – to stop his mom from dying. As the Butterfly Effect theory suggests, though, small (albeit important, in Barry's mind) changes can have big impacts, which Barry soon finds out about.
In short: Barry's traveling into the past completely alters the DCEU timeline. There are no metahumans (i.e. superheroes) to protect Earth – and General Zod (the villain of 2013's Man of Steel) is back from the dead and ready to take over our world.
All hope isn't lost, though. As the teaser shows, Barry enlists the help of another Barry Allen – the superpower-less one who exists in this newly formed timeline – as well as Supergirl (Sasha Calle) and Michael Keaton's fan-favorite Batman to try and stop Zod. Yeah, we did say The Flash looks and sounds absolutely brilliant.
Not content with showing us a near three-minute long trailer, Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) also released a 50-second TV spot during Super Bowl LVII, which includes additional footage:
The Flash cast
Spoilers follow for Man of Steel and Justice League.
Here's the cast list for The Flash so far:
- Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash
- Sasha Calle as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl
- Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman
- Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman
- Michael Shannon as General Zod
- Kiersey Clemons as Iris West
- Ron Livingston as Henry Allen
- Maribel Verdu as Nora Allen
- Antje Traue as Faora-Ul
- Ian Loh as young Barry Allen
Miller reprises their role as the world's fastest man alive in this film; Miller having debuted as Barry Allen/The Flash in Zack Snyder's Justice League. He'll portray two versions of Barry in this film, too – the one from the SnyderVerse, and another unpowered one who's created in this new timeline. Ian Loh will play the child version of Barry Allen. He could also portray another character in the film, but we won't spoil the surprise here as it'll ruin a major part of the plot.
Ben Affleck and Kiersey Clemons also return from the SnyderVerse, albeit in cameo roles. Ron Livingston replaces Billy Crudup as Barry's dad Henry, who was wrongly convicted of murdering Nora Allen, aka Barry's mom.
Michael Shannon and Antje Traue are back as General Zod and Faora-Ul (Zod's lieutenant) from Man of Steel. Zod died in that Superman flick, meaning Shannon didn't understand why he was asked to be in this DCEU movie. Once it was explained to him, though, he was on board. Meanwhile, his second-on-command was sent to the Phantom Zone in Man of Steel. Thanks to Barry's time traveling escapades, however, they're both alive in the newly formed timeline that Barry inadvertently creates.
The Flash, Batman, and Supergirl. Watch their worlds collide only in theaters June 16. #TheFlashMovie pic.twitter.com/MnexX9uGdqFebruary 13, 2023
Sasha Calle has been cast as Kara Zor-El, a Kryptonian who arrives on Earth instead of Kal-El (i.e. Superman) in this alternate timeline. Judging by the trailer, it seems she's been imprisoned by Zod or the US military – likely the latter, given the Earth-style prison cell she's in – which prevents her from halting Zod's invasion. However, it's clear she'll be broken out by the two Barrys with the aid of a certain Dark Knight (more on him in a bit).
Maribel Verdu has also been cast as Nora. It's unclear how big of a role she'll play in the story but, considering the original Barry has traveled back in time to save her, she should have a fairly prominent role.
Michael Keaton dons Batman's infamous cape and cowl for the first time since 1992's Batman Returns, which is one of the best superhero movies of all-time (in our view). We're not sure if Keaton's billionaire vigilante already exists as Batman in this alternate universe, or if he's invariably pulled into it by Barry's botched time travel plan. Either way, he'll be the main Caped Crusader in this movie, with Affleck's Bruce Wayne/Batman featuring in a smaller role early on in the flick.
Lastly, Saorise-Monica Jackson, Rude Mancuso, and Luke Brandon Field have reportedly been cast in undisclosed roles (per Variety (opens in new tab) and Screen Rant (opens in new tab)). It's possible that their roles have been cut in The Flash, though – and the next paragraph might hold clues as to why.
Potential spoilers follow for The Flash's cast.
According to Hollywood Critics Association founder Scott Menzel (opens in new tab), the movie's original theatrical cut contained cameos from a host of major DCEU players. That included Jason Momoa's Aquaman (who'll reprise his role as the water-dwelling hero in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom in late 2023), Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman (who made a big cameo in Shazam! Fury of the Gods), and Henry Cavill's Superman. It's unlikely this trio will feature now, but it would've made for a fun, multiverse-spanning finale if they had (or do).
Elsewhere, industry insider Grace Randolph (opens in new tab) has suggested another former Batman actor could make a surprise cameo at the end of the movie. Not only that, but this individual would be installed as the DCU's new Batman, with the Dark Knight set to co-star in a future DCU movie called The Brave and the Bold. Take this with a huge pinch of salt for now, though.
The Flash story
Here's The Flash‘s official plot synopsis: “Worlds collide in The Flash when Barry Allen uses his superpowers to travel back in time in order to change the events of the past. But when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, Barry becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod has returned, threatening annihilation, and there are no superheroes to turn to.
“That is, unless Barry can coax a very different Batman out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian… albeit not the one he’s looking for. Ultimately, to save the world that he is in and return to the future that he knows, Barry’s only hope is to race for his life. But will making the ultimate sacrifice be enough to reset the universe?”
As we mentioned in our trailer section, The Flash is partially inspired by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert’s iconic 2011 comic-book story arc, aka Flashpoint.
In the comics version of the story, Barry Allen finds himself in an unfamiliar alternative universe where his late mother is still alive, Aquaman's kingdom of Atlantis is at war with Wonder Woman's home of Themyscira, and Thomas Wayne became Batman instead of his murdered son Bruce.
In the DCEU film, Barry will use his time-traveling abilities in an effort to save his mom, Nora – and in so doing, inadvertently make major changes to the space-time continuum.
As director Andy Muschietti explained at August 2020's DC Fandome event: “His mother was murdered, his father was framed and incarcerated, and all his journey from then was of a man trying to make things right.”
“Batman lost his parents, Superman lost his planet, Harley Quinn lost her egg sandwich…” added screenwriter Christina Hodson. “But Barry, because he’s got this ability to go back and manipulate time, he’s the only one who can actually go and change his own personal story. [But] time travel isn’t simple. It’s not always a straightforward case of ‘Go back and change one thing, and another thing changes in the future.'”
Crucially, just as multiple Marvel movies and TV shows, including Loki season 1 and Spider-Man: No Way Home, opened the door for the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse to arrive, The Flash will break down the barriers between alternate dimensions in the DCEU.
“The cinematic multiverse is going to be born out of this movie,” Hodson revealed. “It’s born out of Barry’s story.”
Check out the teaser poster for The Flash and tune in during the big game for the official trailer. #TheFlashMovie pic.twitter.com/CEDjDD3fuCFebruary 10, 2023
“This film is immensely important,” added star Ezra Miller. “If you look around the DC Universe, obviously you have all of these characters that exist within their own bubbles. We even have now multiple iterations of the same story. This movie, by opening that door that Flashpoint did in the comics, all of these stories and characters can start to collide.”
“This movie is a bit of a hinge in the sense that it presents a story that implies a unified universe where all the cinematic iterations that we’ve seen before are valid,” Muschietti also told Vanity Fair (opens in new tab). “It’s inclusive in the sense that it is saying all that you’ve seen exists, and everything that you will see exists, in the same unified multiverse.”
All of that still appears to be the case, despite some of the changes to The Flash‘s story and the forthcoming reset of DC's cinematic universe. It's unclear how much has been altered due to Gunn and Safran's new DCU plan, but we know The Flash will have a major impact on rebooting the DCU and helping to usher in its new batch of movies and TV shows. Speaking of which…
How will The Flash reset the DCU?
There are two big questions on everyone's minds heading into The Flash: Ezra Miller's future and how the film reboots the DCU.
Let's start with the latter. James Gunn and Peter Safran were installed as the new co-heads of DC Studios in October 2022, and the pair quickly set about making plans to streamline DC's flagging cinematic franchise.
Long story short, Gunn and Safran revealed the first phase of their new-look DCU – titled Chapter One: Gods and Monsters – in January 2023. Speaking as part of that grand reveal, Gunn confirmed that The Flash will “reset the entire DC universe”, thus giving Gunn and Safran a clean slate to work from.
There are caveats to this rebooted universe, though. Gunn and Safran are retaining some actors from the DCEU for their newly-formed DCU, meaning there's some confusion over how much will actually be reset. It's possible that the likes of Viola Davis, who is being kept on as Amanda Waller, will simply be playing a multiversal variant of their character in the DCU. Hopefully, Gunn and Safran will shed more light on this ahead of Chapter One officially kicking off.
Here are just a few of our plans. Up, up, and away! #DCStudios #DCU @DCComics pic.twitter.com/8XNDNLUEPqJanuary 31, 2023
Crucially, there was no mention of a sequel to The Flash in Gods and Monsters' current line-up, either – and with good reason.
Without diving too deep into the troubling waters surrounding Miller, the actor has been embroiled in numerous controversies and legal issues over the last 12 months. Multiple allegations of grooming minors, theft, and personal threats have been leveled against them, with outcomes for each charge yet to be determined. Miller has apologized for their actions, citing mental health issues as the cause behind their spate of problems and agreeing to attend therapy sessions to get better.
In August 2022, The Hollywood Reporter (opens in new tab) claimed WBD was considering axing Miller as Barry Allen in future Flash projects. Miller's apology and undertaking of mental health treatment, though, has put a cap on WBD's plans to remove them from the DCU at this time.
Speaking at a private press event in January, Safran declined to confirm (or deny) whether Miller's services would be retained. “Ezra is completely committed to their recovery,” Safran said (per Variety (opens in new tab)). “And we are fully supportive of that journey that they’re on right now. When the time is right, when they feel like they’re ready to have the discussion, we’ll all figure out what the best path forward is. But right now, they are completely focused on their recovery. And in our conversations with them over the last couple of months, it feels like they’re making enormous progress.”
Gunn and Safran, then, aren't ruling anything out. However, if the pair want to give Barry Allen a fresh start, Miller's time in the DCEU/DCU might be over already. If it is, at least they'll have helped give WBD “one of the best superhero movies ever”, according to Gunn. Tom Cruise, who's surprisingly seen The Flash's final cut, certainly thinks Gunn is right – the Hollywood superstar saying “he loved it” (per THR (opens in new tab)).
For more DCEU and DCU-based coverage, find out how to watch the DCEU movies in order. Additionally, read our ranking of the best Batman movies and which DCU movies and shows we're most excited for.
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